Episode 5: Travel from China, interview waivers, proposed immigration fees

It’s Jan. 5, and this is your BAL Immigration Report.

• Travelers from China must test negative for COVID before boarding flights to the U.S.
• The State Department extends its interview waiver policy.
• S. Citizenship and Immigration Services proposes significant fee hikes.

“In order for USCIS to be able to make a dent in these processing times, they’ve got to be able to hire more people and devote more resources towards the processing. And USCIS is saying that this is the way that they’re going to be able to do that.”

—Amy Lighter, BAL Partner

U.S. news

Chinese travelers must test negative for COVID before flying to U.S.

China’s ongoing COVID-19 surge has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to institute a new testing requirement on air travel from the country. As of today, travelers age 2 or older must provide their airline with proof of a negative COVID test if they are flying directly to the United States from Mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao, or if they’re transiting through a third country and were in China in the last 10 days. Individuals who are more than 10 days past testing positive for COVID may provide documentation of recovery instead of a negative test. The requirement applies regardless of nationality or vaccination status.

The United States is one of a growing list of countries that has imposed such a requirement on travel from China. Authorities in Australia, Canada, France, India, Japan and the United Kingdom have announced similar measures.

Interview waiver policy extended

The State Department has extended a COVID-era policy that allows consular officials to waive in-person interviews for some visa applicants. The policy pertains to certain temporary employment and academic nonimmigrant visa applicants as well as to individuals applying for visa renewals in the same visa classification within 48 months of expiration. The extension will remain in place through December of this year.

The State Department said that almost half of the 7 million nonimmigrant visas it issued in the last fiscal year were adjudicated without an in-person interview. While officers may require interviews on a case-by-case basis, the extension of the interview waiver is seen as a key part of the State Department’s broader efforts to reduce visa wait times.

U.S. news roundup

• The U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, resumed full immigrant visa services this week.
• The Department of Homeland Security announced it would extend and redesignate Yemen for Temporary Protected Status.
• The agency also expanded a policy that allows eligible Yemeni F-1 students to request employment authorization, work an increased number of hours and reduce their course load while maintaining F-1 status.

Spotlight

A conversation with BAL Partner Amy Lighter: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services proposes substantial increases to immigration fees.

BAL Immigration Report: Under a proposal the agency published Wednesday, filing fees would increase by a weighted average of 40%. We asked Amy Lighter, a partner in BAL’s Santa Clara office, about some of the more significant changes.

Lighter: One of the biggest changes was in the H-1B world, where the H-1B cap registration fee changed pretty significantly. So since the registration was instituted a couple of years ago, that registration fee for the H-1B cap lottery has been set at $10 for a single entry. In this new fee schedule, the proposed fee is $215 — a 2,000% increase in that fee. We think that this reflects USCIS’ attempt to crack down on frivolous filings of registrations because with the fee being that low, the barrier to entry for H-1B applicants was so low that the number of applications just skyrocketed.

Another one that stands out is the adjustment of status fees. For many years now, there has been a benefit that goes with an adjustment of status application so that when you’re filing the adjustment of status, you can also simultaneously file applications for work authorization and for advance parole, which is a travel authorization. And as long as you’re filing those together, the fees for the employment authorization and for the travel authorization were waived so that you were just paying the fee for the I-485 form, the adjustment of status, and you got those other benefits for free as long as you filed them simultaneously. In the new fee schedule, what they’re doing is they are adding a fee for each of those separate applications. It’s not the full fee that you would pay if you filed each of them individually, but there is an increased fee if you’re filing them together.

BAL: USCIS must complete several steps — including accepting and reviewing public comments, drafting a final rule and submitting a report to Congress — before the proposal is implemented. New fees will not take effect for several months. USCIS said it typically receives 96% of its funding from filing fees, not from congressional appropriations. The agency has said the increase in fees is necessary to reduce wait times — and to keep new backlogs from developing.

Lighter: I don’t think anyone is ever happy to see fees increase — you know, it’s not something that anybody is overjoyed about. The reality is that the processing times that we’ve been seeing for petitions has been a huge pain point. It’s certainly gotten worse since COVID struck in 2020, but it’s been a pain point for years before that. In order for USCIS to be able to make a dent in these processing times, they’ve got to be able to hire more people and devote more resources towards the processing. And USCIS is saying that this is the way that they’re going to be able to do that. They’ve specifically targeted fee increases in those areas where they think that it can have the most impact. While it might be a little painful monetarily, the hope is that it is something that would help us see some of those backlogs start to clear.

BAL: Lighter will join BAL’s Government Strategies team in hosting a webinar on the USCIS fee proposal on Thursday, Jan. 26. For more information, look for updates at BAL.com.

Global news

China ends quarantine requirement

The Chinese government announced it would end its requirement for travelers to quarantine upon arrival beginning Jan. 8. Individuals traveling to China must provide proof of a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours of departure. Travelers must declare their negative test results to China Customs by completing a health declaration form online or via the China Customs app. Travelers will no longer need to obtain a green health code from a Chinese consular office or embassy before departure. China is expected to announce additional measures regarding foreign travel to the country for work, business, study, family visits and reunions in the near future.

UAE updates GCC visa requirements

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates recently announced updated visa requirements for residents of Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Residents of GCC countries, their dependents and accompanying travelers must now apply for an entry visa online to travel to the UAE. The entry visas will allow travelers to stay in the UAE for 30 days. GCC residents can no longer extend their entry visa for an additional 30 days. Instead, they must leave the country and apply for another visa.

India resumes e-Visas for Canadians

India has resumed e-Visa services for Canadian nationals. For the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians can now use the e-Visa platform to apply for E-Tourist, E-Business and E-Conference visas online. Indian authorities resumed e-Visa services for British nationals last month and have now restored e-Visa services to nationals of 165 countries.

Global news roundup

• The Argentinian government is now accepting applications for short-term work permits online.
• Normal operations have resumed at Israeli consulates following the end of a partial strike.
• Croatia increased its national minimum wage by 12.5%.

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